Bitcoin Exchange BTC-E Blocked by Russian Regulator
European bitcoin exchange operator BTC-e has revealed that users in the Russian Federation won’t get access to its website following a ban imposed by a Russian regulator today.
In what may be sign of things to come prior to the review of a draft bill that seeks a Bitcoin ban by the Russian legislature , the official twitter account of European bitcoin and alt coins exchange BTC-e has revealed that it won’t be accessible by Russian users.
The tweet mentions a lock by Roskomnadzor, the Russian telecom regulator which effectively puts the domain btc-e.com in a blacklist that will not be accessible via Russian ISPs.
Roughly translated, the tweet reads:
In connection with roskomnadzor lock [from] 22.01.2016 [the] domain btc-e.com may not be available for users of the RUSSIAN FEDERATION #btce
However, a following tweet confirms that the exchange is already looking at solutions.
A rough translation shows:
Within 24 hours [there will] detailed information published on how to access your account [within] the territory of the Russian Federation #btce
The messages come within a week after Bitstamp’s revelation that the Russian government was seeking to prohibit access to Bitstamp’s websites within the country’s borders. The exchange communicated the news via emails to its customers.
An excerpt from the email read:
We have not been officially notified of the reason for this action, which we view as unjustified. We are not aware of any misuse of our services involving any Russian customer.
Bitstamp poses no threat to the security of Russia or its economy. Bitstamp is a recognized leader in operating a safe, fully compliant exchange. We are attempting to contact officials in Russia to determine why they have taken this unfortunate action.
This resulted in the exchange temporarily blocking access to all Russian IP addresses.
Bitstamp added that issued the temporary block to avoid legal concerns and sanctions that may face its customers.
Again, we regret this inconvenience, but we do not want to expose anyone to possible fines or criminal sanctions by the Russian state.
There have been no reports or known instances of Bitstamp users facing connectivity concerns with the website since.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
